Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / The Romanovs and the Church Schism: Old Believers and the Great Reforms
Transcript
- Lucas: So last time we touched on the Romanovs' relationship with the Orthodox Church, but there's a huge story we only hinted at — the Raskol, the great schism that tore through Russia in the 17th century. It started under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and it basically created a parallel religious world that survived right up to the Revolution. Luna: I've heard of Old Believers, but I don't really know what caused the split. Lucas: It's one of those moments where a seemingly small ritual change triggered a massive cultural earthquake. Patriarch Nikon, who was Alexei's close ally and a very ambitious reformer, decided that Russian Orthodox practice had drifted from Greek Orthodox tradition over the centuries. So he introduced corrections: things like making the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of two, saying 'Alleluia' three times instead of two, and altering the spelling of Jesus' name. Lucas: Now, to us that might sound trivial, but for many Russians, these changes were seen as a betrayal of authentic faith. They believed Moscow was the Third Rome, the last true bastion of Orthodoxy, and any tinkering with ritual was heretical. So when Nikon imposed his reforms with the tsar's backing, a significant portion of the population — peasants, clergy, even some nobles — refused to comply. Luna: And these were the Old Believers, right? Lucas: Exactly. They called themselves Starovtsy, the adherents of the old faith. Their leader was Archpriest Avvakum, a fiery and charismatic priest who wrote a famous autobiography — one of the first in Russian literature — detailing his persecution. He was exiled to Siberia, spent years in a frozen pit, and eventually was burned at the stake in 1682. Lucas: But the resistance didn't stop with him. One of the most dramatic episodes was the siege of the Solovetsky Monastery, a fortified island monastery in the White Sea. The monks there rejected the reforms and held out against the tsar's army for eight years, from 1668 to 1676. When they finally fell, the survivors were brutally executed. Luna: Eight years? That's incredible. Lucas: It shows how deep the conviction ran. And the Old Believers didn't just resist — they developed their own culture, their own texts, their own style of icon painting, all preserved in secret communities. Many fled to the remote forests of the north, to Siberia, or even beyond Russia's borders. Some groups practiced self-immolation rather than submit. Lucas: Now, the Romanovs' response evolved over time. Alexei and his son Fyodor III continued repression, but Peter the Great took a different approach. He was less interested in religious orthodoxy and more in state control. He abolished the patriarchate altogether and replaced it with the Holy Synod, a government department. For Peter, Old Believers were a nuisance, but also a source of economic potential. Luna: How so? Lucas: He imposed a double poll tax on them and required them to wear distinctive clothing, but he also allowed them to live in certain areas if they paid up. In practice, many Old Believers became successful merchants and industrialists — they were disciplined, literate, and trusted each other. By the 18th century, some of Russia's wealthiest families, like the Morozovs, were Old Believers. Lucas: Catherine the Great continued this pragmatic line. She issued a manifesto in 1762 inviting Old Believers who had fled abroad to return, promising them freedom of worship and exemption from certain taxes. She even created a compromise institution called Edinoverie — 'unity in faith' — where Old Believer congregations could keep their old rituals but accept the authority of the official church. Luna: So it was less about belief and more about control and revenue. Lucas: Exactly. But the schism never healed. By the 19th century, Old Believers made up perhaps 10% of the Russian population, and they remained a distinct, often persecuted minority. They were barred from public office, their marriages weren't always recognized, and they faced periodic crackdowns. Yet they preserved an alternative vision of what Russia could be — a vision rooted in pre-Petrine tradition. Lucas: One of the most striking figures from this later period is the noblewoman Boyarynya Morozova, who was arrested for her Old Believer faith and starved to death in a prison pit. Her story became iconic — a symbol of defiance against state power. There's a famous painting by Vasily Surikov showing her being dragged through Moscow in chains, making a two-fingered sign of the cross as the crowd watches. Luna: And the Romanovs themselves — did any of them secretly sympathize with the Old Believers? Lucas: That's a fascinating question. There are rumors that Tsarevich Alexei, Peter the Great's son, was drawn to Old Believer circles, partly as a way to oppose his father's reforms. But nothing concrete. On the whole, the dynasty saw them as a threat to unity, especially after the Pugachev Rebellion in the 1770s, where Old Believers joined the Cossack rebels. After that, Catherine tightened restrictions again. Lucas: So the Raskol is really a story about the limits of autocratic power. The tsars could repress, they could co-opt, but they couldn't erase a community that chose to live by its own rules. And when the Romanovs finally fell in 1917, the Old Believers were still there — some even saw the Revolution as divine punishment for Nikon's heresies. Luna: So in a way, the schism outlasted the dynasty itself. Lucas: Exactly. And it's still alive today. After the Soviet collapse, Old Believer communities began to reemerge openly. There are congregations in Russia, but also in places like Oregon and Australia, descendants of those who fled centuries ago. It's a living artifact of the Romanov era — a thread that connects the 17th century to the 21st. Luna: I want to learn more about Avvakum's autobiography. It sounds incredible. Lucas: It really is. It's raw, vivid, and full of fury. He describes being flogged, exiled, and tortured, but never wavering. It's one of the great works of early Russian literature — and a window into a mindset that the Romanovs could never quite extinguish.